5-at-10: UTC football, baseball blizzard, the new sports radio show in town and Rodman's Nobel Peace Prize

From the "Talks too much" studio, please remember that just like every night has its dawn and every cowboy sings his sad, old song, every rose has its thorn.

Comfortable college football countdown: UTC, Day 3

OK, we spent the last two days reviewing 2012 and looking at the questions these UTC football Mocs have. Today, let's examine their strengths.

Let's go over the list of things a team would need to end an almost 30-year postseason hiatus. (Side note: Hiatus is a good word. Not as good as gubernatorial or onomatopoeia, but a good word none the less. Jefe, would you say we have a plethora of pinatas? Oh yes, El Guapo. Where were we?)

Kadeem Wise from UTC

Kadeem Wise from UTC

Photo by
Ashlee Culverhouse
/Times Free Press.

Oh yes, a check list for success:

Gobs of experience. Check.

A reliable quarterback who is a difference maker. Check.

A defensive game-changer. Check. Check and Discount triple check. With a defensive nucleus that includes Davis Tull, Derrick Lott, Wes Dothard and Kadeem Wise, the Mocs are legit defensively.

A hunger that can only be satisfied with success. Check. Reports from the offseason workouts have been good and seem to be well attended.

We'll make our predictions in answer to a mailbag question on Friday, but we believe this to be the year for Russ Huesman and Co.

Any thing less is a massive disappointment with this many pieces, right?

----

Baseball swirlings

OK, Homer Bailey throws a no-hitter Tuesday that was noteworthy on several fronts. Check this out:

• First off, it's a no-hitter for crying out loud. That in and of itself makes it noteworthy.

• Bailey hit 97 mph with his 108th and final pitch of the night. Wow.

• Teammate Brandon Phillips called it a "perfect hitter." Uhhhhh, thanks Brandon. (Here's saying Phillips will not be doing TV when his playing days are spent. And no it was not a perfect game.)

• As acquaintance of the show RJ Bell sent us, some cat in Vegas won $16K by betting $400 bucks that there would be a MLB no-hitter on Tuesday. (No clue if he got extra for the "perfect hitter.")

• As TFP golf ace David Uchiyama sent us, SI's Steve Rushin quickly sent out his top Homer list that Bailey made. We'll counter that with our top Baileys, with Homer Bailey, George Bailey, Thurl Bailey and Bailey's Irish Creme. Stay thirsty my friends.

Also in the baseball realm, former Lookout Yasiel Puig continues to dominate National League pitching. He had three more hits Tuesday, finishing a triple short of the cycle. Dude is hitting .443 in his five weeks in the National League. He's helped the Dodgers back into the NL West race by winning nine of their last 10 - and he's 17-for-40 in that stretch. If he's not on the All-Star roster, we're boycotting the game, and we don't care what some blowhard jack wagon like Todd Papel-bum says.

Also, A-Rod made a rehab start in Class A Charleston on Tuesday. He went 0-for-2 with a strike out. Hey, looks like he's in midseason form already.

----

An afternoon interlude

Well, it's here.

No not football season. That will be here eight weeks from tomorrow.

No, the radio show experiment that David Paschall and the sports editor tried in April will start on a Monday-Friday rotation next week. We're calling the thing Press Row. Here's the announcement story in today's TFP.

We have high hopes for the ultimate product. We know Paschall knows more about SEC football than any three people we've ever met. And we know a few movie quotes and associate with a few folks that can use "Milk Bag" or "Ewok celebration" properly in a sentence or can explain WAR - in relation to Jayson Stark or Edwin Starr.

Swing by the 1-3 hour if you get the chance. Or listen along on the interweb at espnchattanooga.com. Don't cost nothing.

----

This and that

- Thanks to morning correspondent StuckinKent, we have this monster revelation. Dennis Rodman thinks he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Yes, THAT Dennis Rodman, the wedding dress wearing, head case.

- Dillon Bates, a high-four-star linebacker, is expected to announce his college choice tonight. He is picking between Tennessee, Florida and Alabama. Bates is the son of Bill Bates, the former Vols star and Herschel Walker stepping stone. This would be a huge get for UT for a number of reasons, and it would be a huge miss if he picks the Tide or the Gators for a number of reasons.

Former New England Patriots football tight end Aaron Hernandez

Former New England Patriots football tight end Aaron...

Photo by
Associated Press
/Times Free Press.

- OK, we're starting to get the vibe that Aaron Hernandez was not that nice of a guy after all.

- The odds have been posted for the annual hot dog eating contest on July 4. Joey Chestnut is a 1-to-10 favorite, meaning you have to bet $1,000 to win a $100. Side note: The over/under for total number of hot dogs eaten by the winner is 63.5. Hold the mustard please.

- Thought this was cool: As he's making his rounds through baseball in his final season, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is getting some going away presents. The Twins gave Rivera a rocking chair made of broken bats, since his cutting fastball has broken more than a few in his 20-year, Hall of Fame career. Also of note: He'll be the last person to ever wear No. 42 in the big leagues. How cool is Rivera? He's the one Yankees player that Boston-loving, Red-Sox-in-his-blood Spy can't hate.

If you need a talking point, and since we're going to be away for most of Thursday and Friday (yes, we'll still post something, but you guys will be running the comments, so play nice and keep the Milk Bags to a minimum), well, try these:

Prediction for the Mocs?

Does Puig deserve to be an All-Star?

How many hot dogs could you eat in 8 minutes?

Got any ideas for Thursday's holiday top 5 list?

How about a great SAT prep question: Dennis Rodman is to the Nobel Peace Prize as (blank). We'll start with Dennis Rodman is to the Nobel Peace Prize as Kim Kardashian is to an Academy Award.

Don't forget the mailbag - we've got a spot of two - and whatcha' got?